On December 1st, 2009 PRNews hosted its 2009 PR Awards honoring those who have made a substantial and resonating impact in the world of new and evolving Public Relations.

According to the latest issue that details the awards as well as the winners:

Much like corporate America, PR is undergoing a sea change in how it does business. As traditional media shrinks and online/social media grows, a new breed of PR professionals is coming into its own. And although the word “integrated” is used way too often when describing the perfect campaign, it’s still a word that resonates. So what drives the perfect communications mix? People. Tweets and YouTube aside, PR is still a vocation dependent upon people and their creativity, innovative thinking and leadership. Those strengths perfectly describe the winners of PR News’ PR People Awards and the Hall of Fame inductees in this issue.

I was humbled when I learned that I was nominated for the Blogger of the Year category.  I was even more surprised when heard on Twitter that I had won. Thank you to Sally Falkow and Steve Radick for the alert.

As published in the latest edition of PRNews:

His tireless quest to improve and enrich his field makes Brian Solis a model of excellence as a public relations communicator. Author of the PR 2.0 blog at www.briansolis.com, this sought-after author and speaker has been covering developments in communications during our age of increasing technological dependence, while creating them himself since the mid-90s. As an entrepreneur he founded the PR firm FutureWorks, which continues to provide guidance to technology companies at all stages of their growth.

Updated on a daily or near-daily basis, PR 2.0 covers some of the most urgent themes professionals face across all practice settings. In a recent week, Solis touched on Twitter’s trending topics; the evolution of search influence in social media; the death of the blog (an exaggeration); the future of the embargo; and a detailed analysis of where social media has traveled over the past half-dozen years and where it may go in the next. Solis has been recognized for his consistently forward-thinking posts, and his blog is ranked in the Ad Age Power 150 list of leading marketing bloggers.

I wasn’t able to attend the awards ceremony  unfortunately.  I was preparing for travel to Germany (where I’m writing this post now) and Paris.

Just in case I won, I was asked to prepare a short acceptance speech of which I’ll share with you here:

I couldn’t be here with you today because I’m actually immersed in my next blog post…writing about the incredible volume of innovation and collaboration fueling the social economy.  OK, maybe not…but I am continually focused on and inspired by the evolution fueled and led by some of the very people in this room today.

Social Media isn’t killing PR, it’s offering us a chance for a renaissance. While I’ve worked in PR since 1991, it wasn’t until I started my company in 1999 where  my focus and passion was defined. It was then that I decided to prove that there was a business model for new media and digital communications. And, almost 11 years later, we’re just now beginning to realize its value and promise.

Over the years, I’ve simply documented what I’ve learned, experienced, and studied. This blog ties psychology, sociology, and real world strategy together in a way that’s  understandable, practical and executable (and also measurable). I aspire to help make sense of the rapid evolution that unfolds before us. But like you, I too am a student of new media.  So, thank you for your support…and, thank you for your role in putting the public back in public relations. Happy Holidays…

Connect with Brian Solis on:
Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Posterous, or Facebook
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